Even though I am pregnant, it’s still important to me that I eat right and stay on the right track when it comes to exercise and making healthy choices. After all, I don’t want to gain back that 40 pounds that I worked so hard to lose.

That’s why I was so excited to find out about 3 new rich and creamy flavors that Progresso introduced in their Light Soups: Light Creamy Potato with Bacon and Cheese, and Light Chicken Pot Pie Style. These two new flavors are joining the lineup of more than 40 Progresso soups that are 100 calories or less per serving.

For this review, MyBlogSpark sent me a can of each of these new flavors, along with a soup mug, a lunch tote, and a water bottle. This was such a great little gift pack! I love the lunch tote. While I don’t really go anywhere that requires bringing a lunch, this tote is the perfect size for toting things wherever I do happen to go. The water bottle is great! So great, in fact, that my daughter stole it and takes it to school with her every day. (I’m totally ok with that, too. At least I know she’s drinking water during the day and not sugary sodas!) The mug was perfect for taste-testing the two new flavors of Progresso Light soup. Speaking of which, these were pretty good. Normally, I love potato soup and can’t get enough of it. This was ok. I could definitely tell it was a light soup. But, it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t eat it. The chicken pot pie flavor, though, was really, really good. I loved how creamy it was, and I loved all the vegetables in it. It will definitely be the soup I stock up on to get me through the winter.

Overall, I liked the soups and would recommend them to my readers who are looking to eat right and stay on a better track. I also encourage my readers to connect with Progresso in the following ways:

Brain Stress Ball (To relieve stress from a busy day… although my 18 month old never lets go of it long enough to let me try! 🙂 )

Water Bottle (I love having another reusable water bottle on hand. It’s a great way to encourage the kids – and me! – to drink more water.)

Ear Tube Buds (These are a great way to listen to music, keep my focus, and encourage a little creativity in whatever I’m doing.)

Office Turf (I love this. Nature is a wonderful source of relaxation. This allows you to bring a little bit of the outdoors inside and can help you feel calm and rejuvenated.)

Mini Tote Bag (You can carry around and keep the items from your “survival kit” close by, or you can use it to carry your lunch or yummy snacks like Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies. There are tons of uses for this little bag.)

I love the Survival Kit that I received, and I love the new Chocolate Chip Cookie flavor Fiber One 90 Calorie Brownies even more. These brownies contain 20% of the daily value of fiber and only 3g of fat per serving. They are a better choice and they taste great!

I have been searching high and low for wholesome snacks that will help me continue with my weight loss goals. The problem I’ve found with most “wholesome” or “good-for-you” snacks? They taste like tree bark or crunchy dirt.

When I got an email from the folks at Nature’s Path, I figured it couldn’t hurt to give their new Love Crunch line of snacks a try.

I am SO glad I did. I was more than pleasantly surprised with the taste. But I’ll get to that in a minute.

When the package arrived on my doorstop the other day, I was truly blown away. It was some of the nicest earth-friendly packaging I have ever seen. And I loved that instead of sending me artwork and papers about their product, they included a flash drive. {By the way, the flash drive is made from recycled wood pallets.}

It was right around snack time when the package arrived, so I opened the Carrot Cake granola blend. I gave some to the kids and myself. WOW. Better than any carrot cake I’ve ever had. Over the next few days, we tried all of the flavors. I refused to share the Dark Chocolate & Red Berries or the Aloha Blend. Those are my absolute favorites, and I’ve got them put on the very top pantry shelf, hidden where even my husband cannot find them. 😉

Every morning, Parker will get up and say, “Mom, I need some of that yummy stuff.” The yummy stuff he is referring to, of course, is any flavor of the Love Crunch granola he can find.

Aside from the taste, there are several other things I love about the Love Crunch Organic Granola line:

The story behind the product: It was created by Arjan Stephens, {the son of Nature’s Path founder Arran Stephens} and his wife Rimjhim. At their wedding, they offered the granola as a favor to guests who had come to celebrate in their marriage. They also asked that instead of wedding gifts, their guest go out and volunteer in their communities. Thus, “Love Crunch” was born.

Each bag of Love Crunch is packed full of Whole Grains, contains low sodium, no cholesterol, and no trans fat. These are truly “good-for-you” foods that really taste good!

The granolas are USDA certified organic {which means no artificial preservatives, additives, or synthetic pesticides}. They also have the new Non-GMO Project Verified Seal so that you can trust that these products meet the genetically modified organism {GMO} avoidance practices.

The snacks come in bags instead of the Nature’s Path boxes in order to minimize excess cardboard.

For every bag of Love Crunch sold, Nature’s Path will donate the equivalent in cash or cereal to food banks through their “Share the Love Project.”

To learn more about Nature’s Path and their entire line of products, connect with them in the following ways:

This is a product that I am proud to stand behind, to share with my readers, and to feed to my family. Since my husband is a co-manager at a grocery store, I’ve already asked him to promise me that the Love Crunch Granolas will be available to his shoppers.

Nature’s Path has already shared the “Love Crunch” with me. Now, they want to spread the love to one of my readers! One lucky reader will receive one package of each flavor of Love Crunch.

Disclaimer: I received a sample of products from Nature’s Path in order to facilitate my review. I was in no other way compensated for this post. Opinions expressed are 100% my own. Nature’s Path is sponsoring the giveaway and will award one reader with a bag of each flavor of Love Crunch Granola.

You all know how hard I am working to create a better me… a healthier me. Someone that I can be proud of and that my family can be proud of.

Wouldn’t a fantastic new look be awesome to go with my healthy new attitude? Well, now we can each have a chance to win a new look thanks to Progresso® and their Souper You® Contest.

All you have to do is tell Progresso® why you deserve a makeover and what you love about their soup. Then, 3 lucky winners will receive an ultimate makeover experience in Hollywood this Spring! So exciting! Winners will get a trip for 2 to Los Angeles, California, a head-to-toe makeover that includes hair and makeup, a shopping spree with $1,000 in spending money, and 2 tickets to this season’s live finale of NBC’s The Biggest Loser.

I do have to say that Progresso® soups have been a great way to keep myself on track with eating better. They offer 40 delicious soups with 100 calories or less per serving. They’re a great way to change up your diet, beat the “diet boredom,” satisfy taste cravings, and help you stick to your weight management calorie goals. With ingredients like beans, rice, pasta, meats, and vegetables, they leave you full and ready to face the rest of your day.

To enter the contest for yourself, head to www.SouperYou.com. Submit your photo and brief essay about why you love Progresso® soups a why you deserve a makeover. But you have to hurry! You can only enter until February 22nd.

On March 12th, you can read the announcement of the top ten finalists and vote for your favorite finalist until March 25th.

A few weeks ago, I was sent a copy of the book “What’s Eating Your Child?” by Kelly Dorfman, MS, LND. The title continues, “The Hidden Connections Between Food and Childhood Ailments: Anxiety, Recurrent Ear Infections, Stomachaches, Picky Eating, Rashes, ADHA, and More. And What Every Parent Can Do About It.”

When I first heard about the book, I was very anxious to get my hands on a copy. I am mom to 3 very picky eaters, and one of my picky eaters has almost a “bi-polar” attitude. One moment, he will be as sweet as can be, loving me, hugging me, and so well behaved. And then, something snaps, and he’s mean, vindictive, and spiteful. It is absolutely crazy to me. I wanted to see if this book could offer any help. Maybe it couldn’t solve the “bi-polar” issues, but it may be able to help with the picky eating, right?

I figured it was definitely worth a try.

I read the entire book through in one sitting. I had heard that food can affect certain emotional behaviors. I have a friend that’s been trying to convince me of that for months now. She changed her entire family’s diet, and she has seen drastic changes in her children. I figured it was coincidence. Food can’t make that much impact on us, can it?

Each chapter of the book convinced me how wrong I really was. You should see how much I have marked up, highlighted, and dog-eared this book. But, there is just so much information in there that I found myself constantly going back to it.

Because of this book, I learned that Zander’s chicken skin is a lack of essential fatty acids. Because he is such a picky eater, he is missing out on so many things that his body needs. The book gave practical, easy to follow advice on how to introduce these essential fats into Zander’s diet. It’s still a battle, and we’re still dealing with quite a bit of chicken skin, but it is getting better.

The biggest change, though, has been in Jace. The book suggested that Jace’s “bi-polar” emotions could be caused by too much gluten in his diet. As I read, all I could think about it how much gluten I serve: pasta dishes, breads, and on and on… My cupboards were full of gluten-based products. For one week, I gave Jace absolutely no gluten. (Do you know how expensive and difficult that is? More power to the moms who deal with maintaining gluten free diets in their household!) By day 2, Jace was a completely different kid. And, now, when he starts to act up, I realize he’s been getting too much gluten and I need to cut back.

The entire book is full of tips just like those mentioned above. And in the back of the book, you can find a fabulous “FAQ section.” That section answered dozens of my questions, and I find myself going back to it all the time.

I cannot promise that this book will “cure” your child, but it can tell you what it has done for my children – it has made a world of difference! If you have been wondering how food affects your children, or if you’ve noticed some odd behaviors in your child, I would highly, highly recommend this book.

Disclaimer: I was contacted on behalf of Workman Publishing and received a copy of the book in order to facilitate my review. The opinions expressed are 100% my own, and should be read as such. I am not a medical professional, and make no claims this book will “cure” your child. I was in no way compensated for this post.

I still use my Mrs. Dash seasonings all the time. I was *so* happy when Mom Central and Mrs. Dash sent me some more seasonings, because I was almost out of most of my favorites!

Lately we’ve been using Mrs. Dash to spice up our special holidays. Eater was wonderful, and so was the ham with some Mrs. Dash Original Blend applied before cooking. And for Mother’s Day, I made my favorite – homemade chicken and dumplin’s, only instead of salt, I substituted in the table blend. No one even noticed, and the chicken was gobbled up! For Father’s Day, we’ll be using some of the Grilling blends, because we’ll definitely be grilling out that day.

We’ve actually been grilling out a lot lately. I love having a back porch and a fabulous grill. We use it constantly, and the Mrs. Dash grilling seasonings are my favorite way to prepare chicken, burgers, and even steak on the grill. My husband loves it, too, and because they’re so easy to use, he never complains about being “forced” to cook dinner. I’m sure he won’t even mind when he has to pull out the grill on Father’s Day. 🙂

Here is a fantastic recipe from the Mrs. Dash website that I’m definitely going to try:

My kids love fruit, but there are times when I’ll purchase fresh fruit and it will sit in the fridge. About a month later, we’ll find nasty, rotten oranges shoved in the back corner that we forgot about. It’s so gross, and I’ve thrown all that money out the window by wasting that fruit.

Funky Monkey Snacks are real fruit snacks, freeze dried with a special process that makes them crunchy, but it keeps nearly all of the fruit’s natural goodness.

Before I get to our review, here’s a little bit of information about Funky Monkey Snacks:

Funky Monkey Snacks are gluten-free, wheat-free, dairy-free, peanut and tree nut free, and contain no added sugars, colors, flavors, or preservatives. They are Non-GMO Project verified, vegan, raw, and certified Kosher. They are produced in Brazil, near where the fruit is grown to ensure that all of the premium-quality ingredients are harvested and freeze-dried at the peak of freshness.

Funky Monkey Snacks are available in the following flavors in both their 1 ounce and .42-ounce packages:

Applemon (Apple & Cinnamon)

Bananamon (Banana & Cinnamon)

Carnaval Mix (Banana, Pineapple, Apple, & Papaya)

JiveALime (Pineapple & Lime Juice)

MangOJ (Mango & Orange Juice)

Pink Pineapple (Pineapple & Guava)

Purple Funk (Banana & Acai)

Funky Monkey Snacks are sold nationwide at major retailers and online at Amazon.com.

Now, let’s get to our review of Funky Monkey Snacks.

I mentioned above that my kids already love fruit, so I was sure these would be a hit. The first flavor we tried was the Carnaval Mix. I shook some out on the table for Lucy and Parker, and I had to try some for myself.

Lucy and Parker gobbled up their servings and quickly asked for more. I took my time, and it wasn’t long before I had Lucy and Parker stealing pieces of fruit from my stash. They loved it!

I couldn’t believe how crunchy it was. I’ve had dried fruit before… lots of times. But, most of the time, dried fruit tastes more like rubber than it does fruit. Not this, though. I could tell exactly what kind of fruit I was eating in every bite. It was delicious.

My teenager had a hard time eating it. She said it reminded her too much of the “puffs” you can buy in the baby food aisle, and she couldn’t get past that. {Remember – she is a teenager.} The other four had absolutely no problem eating the Funky Monkey Snacks and wanted to try every flavor received the first day we had them!

We did try all of the fruit, and some went over better than others. My personal favorite was the Pink Pineapple. Mmmmmm. It really is some of the best dried pineapple I’ve ever had, and I loved having it mixed with the guava. It gave it a great taste! My boys, Zander and Jace, both loved the Applemon. They’re all about apples and cinnamon, and this was the perfect blend of both! Lucy and Parker loved every flavor they tried. They didn’t seem to have a favorite, because they just gobbled up whatever I gave them as soon as I gave it to them.

Overall, I am truly impressed with Funky Monkey Snacks. In fact, since my husband works as a co-manager at a local grocery store, I’m going to ask him to see if he can get these snacks in at his store. I know the kids would love it if he did, and I’d love to have fruit in the house that isn’t going to turn to mush in the back of my refrigerator! Not only that, but the snacks are all natural, and I can feel proud knowing my kids aren’t filling up on junk.

Check out Funky Monkey Snacks today, and try them for yourselves. I’ll bet you won’t believe how crunchy the snacks are! You may want to invest in ear muffs before eating them. 🙂

You can purchase Funky Monkey Snacks at major retailers nationwide, or on Amazon.com.

Disclaimer: I was contacted by a representative of SS|PR on behalf of Funky Monkey Snacks. I was sent a box of assorted flavors of their fruit snacks in order to facilitate my honest and thorough review. Opinions expressed are 100% my own. I was in no other way compensated for this post.

Throughout my pregnancy, I was very careful about making sure that when I snacked, I went with healthy options. Yoplait yogurt was a staple in this house, because it’s a tasty treat that the entire family enjoys.

Now, Gage is finally here, and I am even more determined to keep our snacking on a healthy track. And, yes, I’ve still got my fridge stocked with yummy goodness that is Yoplait Yogurt.

Yoplait has so much to offer: Yoplait Original, Yoplait Light, Yoplait Fiber One, Yoplait Delight Parfaits and Yoplait Kids. Not only are they all tasty, but they’re good for you too!

Here are five great ways to ‘get your snack on’ with Yoplait this March:

Start spring off right with Yoplait Light’s Two Week Tune Up Plan – Replace breakfast and lunch with a cup of your favorite flavor of Yoplait Light, a whole grain and a piece of fruit and you could lose 5 pounds in two weeks. Go to Yoplait.com for full diet details.

Get more calcium with Yoplait Original style yogurt – Now with two times the calcium of the leading yogurt (50 percent of the Recommended Daily Value) in one convenient 6-ounce cup*, Yoplait Original style yogurt is committed to women’s health, offering a product that has even more of the calcium women need for strong, healthy bodies. Grab a free cup while supplies last during the Million Cup Giveaway on Yoplait on Facebook!

Try the newest flavor from Yoplait Fiber One – Yoplait Fiber One’s new Blueberry flavor yogurt is packed with filling fiber, calcium, vitamins A and D, real fruit and the great taste of blueberries. With only 50 calories, 5 grams of fiber and 0 grams of fat, this deliciously creamy yogurt won’t break your calorie bank.

Stress less over snack time with Yoplait Kids yogurt – With a wholesome and fun snack like Yoplait Kids yogurt in the fridge, you can feel good about what your children are eating at snack time. Yoplait Kids provides an excellent source of calcium and vitamin D, and has 25% less sugar than the leading kids’ yogurt**. With yummy flavors, and favorite friends like Dora and Lightning McQueen on the packages, Yoplait Kids is a hit with moms and children alike.

End the day with a Delight Parfait from Yoplait – Even with two luscious layers providing a double shot of rich and creamy yogurt, these 100 calorie indulgences from Yoplait contain only 1.5 grams of fat per serving. Now available in two new flavors, Chocolate Éclair and Cherry Cheesecake, you can enjoy a dessert that’s 100 percent guilt-free.

*Leading yogurt has less than 25% Daily Value calcium per 6 oz.
**Yoplait kids has 9 grams of sugar per 3oz. the leading kids’ yogurt has 13 grams of sugar per 3oz.

Head to Facebook and become a fan of Yoplait on Facebook. There you’ll find the latest news, coupons for your favorite products from Yoplait Yogurt, and even a chance to win a prize pack of the Yoplait Greek Yogurt. All you have to do is “like” their page, and you’ll have access to all the latest goodies.

Disclaimer: I am posting this on behalf of MyBlogSpark and Yoplait yogurt. I have not received any compensation for this post, however, by posting, I am automatically entered to win a Yoplait prize pack. Information provided in this post was given by MyBlogSpark. Any opinions expressed are 100% my own.

Back in December, I posted about how I had seriously changed my diet and how I’ve been using Mrs. Dash seasonings instead of salt in many of my recipes. (You can read all about it here.)

Things haven’t changed a bit. I still reach for the Mrs. Dash seasonings before I grab the salt. And while my blood pressure is slightly elevated this pregnancy, I believe that because I’ve cut so much salt out of my diet that it’s kept my blood pressure from getting out of control. Even with everything we’ve dealt with the past few weeks – the stress of moving, the last few weeks of pregnancy, everything – my blood pressure has stayed down. I still feel healthy, and my weight gain this pregnancy is still right on track.

I still love the way that Mrs. Dash makes everything taste. The kids are still asking for seconds and thirds on dinner, and they’re coming close to eating me out of house and home. 🙂

I’ve been trying to make extra meals here and there to store in the freezer so that when Gage finally makes his appearance, it’ll be easier on all of us. Guess what I’m using to season those recipes? Yep! Mrs. Dash! My freezer has several casseroles, side dishes, and main dishes just waiting to be warmed up and ready to enjoy.

In this post, I’m going to share some fantastic recipes with you courtesy of Mom Central and Mrs. Dash.

These are the ones I’ve tried that my family just loves! I hope you’ll try them too and let me know what you think of them.

Now, to feed my family, I had to double these recipes. They still tasted great, and were a hit with the whole family! The Savory Chicken and Potatoes is one I’ve got waiting in the freezer for after Gage’s arrival.

Try these recipes out, and let me know what you think of them! I’m curious to see if your family loves them as much as mine.

I’ll be participating in a campaign with Mom Central and Mrs. Dash over the next year, and every few months, I’ll put up a new post about how I’m using the seasonings.

To see all the flavors of Mrs. Dash seasoning, and to find more yummy recipes, check out www.MrsDash.comDisclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Mrs. Dash and received a gift certificate to thank me for taking the time to participate.

The first words out of my kids’ mouths when they get home from school are “Mom, can we have a snack?” Without fail, every day, they come home like they’ve been starved all day long. I don’t want them munching on chips, cookies, or other items that are full of sugar and will keep them from eating dinner, but I don’t want to give them a healthy snack that tastes bad, either.

Luckily, there’s Yoplait Kids Yogurt. My kids are huge fans of Yoplait Kids Yogurt. I’m honestly not sure which one they like more: the fact that their favorite characters like Dora, Lightning McQueen, and the Disney Princesses are on every cup, or the great taste. For me, I love the fact that each cup is packed with Calcium, Vitamin D, and Protein to help build strong bones and provide a delicious snack that my kids love. And at just $2 per 4-pack, it’s also a great value.

MyBlogSpark recently sent me a coupon for Yoplait Kids Yogurt products, as well as a prize pack that contained a foldable travel cooler, (perfect for taking yogurt on the go), a four-piece spoon set – in way cool colors, and perfect for little hands, a power magnet picture frame, trendy alphabet-shaped “kiddie bands,” a bounce ball, and a “My First Scavanger Hunt” card game that’s great for after-snack fun.

My kids have used something from the prize pack every day since we got it. We immediately used the coupon, and they loved the yogurt. (Just like they always do!) The foldable travel cooler is perfect for taking yogurt to the park for Lucy and Parker, and they all love the fun colored spoons. The picture frame comes with a pop-out calendar that’s great to have on the fridge for easy reference. The “My First Scavenger Hunt” game has been a blast for all the kids. Lucy refuses to share the bounce ball, and insists that it is her’s and only her’s. And the kiddie bands are great for everyone. This is the perfect prize pack for any kid, and it will keep them entertained for hours! (Making it perfect for any mom!)

If you don’t want to wait to see if you’ve won, you can click here and download a printable coupon for $0.50 off the purchase of one (1) four-pack of Yoplait Kids yogurt right now!

I’ve also got an extra prize pack to give away to one of my readers. You’ll receive the same prize pack that I did, and your kids are sure to love it!

Here’s how to enter:

Mandatory Entry: Your first comment must answer these questions: Do you find it challenging getting your kids to eat healthy, wholesome snacks? If so, what do you do to encourage healthy snacking? And if not, share your secret with us!

Please note: This coupon offer for a free four pack of Yoplait Kids yogurt is not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, North Dakota and Tennessee.

Fine Print:Contest is open to residents of the US. If you already do any of the above, you qualify. Please leave a comment for each of the extra entries you complete. However, you must first leave the required comment as stated above. If you still have the old 5 Vinez Monkeys button on your blog, please switch it to the new Blessed Beyond Words button or your extra entry will not count. Giveaway will end on March 13th at 11:59pm (EST), and the winner will be selected via the “And the Winner is..” plugin. Winner will be notified via email upon selection, and will have 48 hours to claim their prize.

Disclaimer: I was contacted by MyBlogSpark on behalf of Yoplait Kids Yogurt. I was sent the necessary products to facilitate my honest and thorough review. Opinions expressed in this post are 100% my own. I have not been compensated in any other way for this post. Sponsor is fulfilling the winner’s prize as stated above.